I don’t mind baking requests – in fact, I love them, because sometime I have the itch to bake but don’t know what to make. Baking with a purpose can be fun.

The request for these brownies came from our friend Dan, who asked for something chocolate-marshmallow-s’mores-ish. I thought these would be just about perfect, but I had some reservations about the topping.

The bar is a dense, fudge-y brownie with chunks of chocolate chips. It’s the first whole grain brownie I’ve ever made – completely whole wheat flour – and they’re really, really good. I’d like to try making just the brownies at some point. Once the brownies are mostly cooked, they’re topped with mini-marshmallows, and then it cooks for a short period so the marshmallows start to get gooey.

The final touch is a peanut butter-chocolate mixture that goes on top of the marshmallows. The crunch part of the topping is the part I wasn’t sure about – it’s All Bran Bran Buds cereal. Yeah, bran cereal?

The only reason I took the leap of faith and used them is that this book has never failed me. I’ve baked out of it a lot and everything has been really, really good. And you know, these brownies didn’t disappoint. Everyone thought the crunchy bits were Rice Krispies. I fessed up, but it turned out fine because everyone loved them – especially Dan.

If you’re interested in the recipe for the brownies, it’s posted on Handle the Heat – but note that I used regular whole wheat flour, not white wheat flour. Either will work fine.

• Peanut Butter Marshmallow-Crunch Brownies (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 42)